Fritillaries in a Copper Vase, Paris 1887 - Vincent Van Gogh

Some of the first signs of Van Gogh's attempt to lighten and brighten his palette are found in his paintings of flowers in vases. He was very impressed by the painter Adolph Monticelli, who painted many colourful vases of flowers using thick, impasto paint and strong, even clashing colour combinations. Monticelli's critics were very rude about his loose technique of painting, but Van Gogh disagreed. He admired his work and said of one of his pieces that Theo Van Gogh bought, 'in terms of colour it is something of the first order'.